A Spirit pilot and flight attendant describe flying empty planes around the country and being strand

[diehardblue]

The epic meltdown caused some pilots to fly empty planes across the country while flight attendants were left stranded for days, according to two Spirit staffers.

"If you can't track and see in the IT system where your crew members are, then how are you going to schedule to move them anywhere?" one flight attendant, who was stranded in a major Northeastern city for four days, told Insider.

"It was like being lost in space," she said.

One pilot said Spirit's operational issues came down to the airline's lack of investment in infrastructure, which he said is evidenced by staffing shortages, antiquated phone lines, and crashing computer systems.

"They're trying to run an airline of 167 airplanes on an infrastructure that was designed for 50," he said.

Both employees requested anonymity to speak freely about the situation, though their identities and employment were verified by Insider.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/airtravel/a-spirit-pilot-and-flight-attendant-describe-flying-empty-planes-around-the-country-and-being-stranded-for-days-last-week-amid-the-airlines-meltdown-it-was-like-being-lost-in-space/ar-AANeQJO?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnb7Kz

[Carlitos Brigante]

1. K&R!

[mcar]

2. My Spirit flight was cancelled a week ago today

There was no way, not one, to contact anyone - the website kept defaulting to my cancelled flight when I tried to rebook, the customer service phone # just played a message that there were technical difficulties and the chat was only automated.

I ended up asking for a refund and booking a return flight on Southwest - and staying an extra 3 days with my new granddaughter so yay me!

Other Spirit customers had it so much worse and I can't imagine how frustrating it must have been for staff.

[North Shore Chicago]

3. Makes me wonder

if Spirit Airlines is run by an entitled nincompoop(s) where was handed the airlines as daddy's tax write off?

I read several years ago rich couples were buying franchises for their little Nigel and Karen (mostly Nigel) to run in the ground. Their children had no business savvy whatsoever and treated their gift like a game to be played.

[sboatcar]

4. I don't know that I've talked to anyone who's had a good experience with Spirit

why anyone still flies that airline is beyond me.

[Tracer]

8. Took Spirit from Raleigh to Boston in Feb. 2020.

Just before the pandemic blew up.

The price was OK, but they charge for everything else, so the difference between them and other carriers is minimal (as are the seats... not much padding).

Our stewardesses played a game with our boarding passes (if you had a certain number, you got a free flight. I didn't have it).

I consider any flight that safely makes it to its destination a good flight.

[CentralMass]

5. I have had one cross country flight on Spirit from Boston to Portland

I have to say that it was pretty good. The jet was new. The seat were a lighter weight less padded seat (I'm guessing to save weight for better fuel economy) but I liked them. I booked last minutec and did not have an assigned seat and when I arrived I was assigned the window seat on the second row on the front left of the plane. The only negative was that the women next to me was the biggest pain in the ass that I have ever flown with. She treated the stewardess's like they were her servants. She complained about everything, ask for thing that weren't available and then debated the issue when she was told so. I put on my head phones and tried to sleep.

However the plane and the crew were fine.

[pnwest]

7. I was on a Frontier plane with those same

type of lighter, less padded seats - I liked them, too.

[Ace Rothstein]

6. Majorly discounted prices give you a majorly discounted experience.

Southwest was the exception to the rule 10+ years ago but their service quality has declined as well.

[BannonsLiver]

9. Spirit sucks

So does Frontier. The Greyhound buses of the sky. And I’m not talking about the quality of the aircraft.

[we can do it]

10. Frontier is better than American.

[BannonsLiver]

11. It's actually not though, but okay.